Picks of the Week: March 6 - 12, 2011

Website of the Week – GrantSpace
GrantSpaceSM, a new service of the Foundation Center, offers information and resources that are specifically designed to meet the needs of grantseekers. At GrantSpaceSM, you can:

• View video recordings of live discussions with grantmakers
• Listen to podcasts featuring experts in the field
• Find answers to your questions in the Knowledge Base
• Connect right now with a professional Foundation Center librarian
• Get information about opportunities in your subject
• Increase your expertise in fundraising and management
• Attend training and events, in-person and online
• and much more

To access the website, go to: http://grantspace.org.


Publication of the Week -- The Nonprofit Organizational Culture Guide: Revealing The Hidden Truths That Impact Performance by Paige Hull Teegarden, Denice Rothman Hinden and Paul Sturm

From the publishers: Part practical guide and part reference, the authors draw upon contemporary research to thoroughly examine and define organizational culture, then explore its implications for nonprofit organizational management. The book guides readers through the process of Revealing Organizational Culture (the ROC), an assessment which helps leaders successfully apply the principles of culture to achieve their organizational goals by analyzing organizational stories. This book is a comprehensive guide for nonprofit managers and leaders, board members, consultants, funders, and others who seek to help nonprofits improve their organizations, service delivery, and ultimately performance in accomplishing their missions. Click to preview this book on Amazon.com.


Trend of the Week – States Slash Arts Support

The National Assembly of State Arts Agencies has released a new study that shows exactly how much cash-starved states have been squeezing their arts budgets during the economic downturn. Legislatures across the country cut appropriations to state arts agencies by 7.2 percent in the 2011 fiscal year, to $272-million. And that was the third straight year of cuts, it found, meaning legislatures have slashed spending on arts agencies by 19 percent since the recession started. According to the study, arts spending has never recovered from the 2001-2 recession. State arts agencies—which exist in all of the states and provide grants and other help to nonprofit arts organizations–get more than three-fourths of their revenue from legislative appropriations. Taking into account inflation, the report said that spending has plummeted 45 percent since 2002. For more information, go to: http://www.nasaa-arts.org.


Resource of the Week – Arts Advocacy Resources

The National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA) is the membership organization that unites, represents and serves the nation's state and jurisdictional arts agencies. Each of the 56 states and jurisdictions has created an agency to support excellence in and access to the arts. NASAA has developed a number of advocacy and case-making tools to help document the impact and results of public investment in the arts. To access the tools, go to: http://www.nasaa-arts.org/Advocacy/index.php. NASAA has also developed the Advocate series which offers tips and strategies that help arts advocates make the case, mobilize support and expand their influence. To access the series, go to: http://www.nasaa-arts.org.


Tech Tip of the Week -- Using Screenshot in Office 2010

Screenshot -- a new feature in Office 2010 -- allows you to capture images from your screen.

• Click the document that you want to add the screenshot to
• Click the Insert tab on the Ribbon
• In the Illustrations group, click Screenshot
• To add the whole window, click the thumbnail in the Available Windows gallery
• To add part of the window, click Screen Clipping, and when the pointer becomes a cross, press and hold the left mouse button to select the area of your screen that you want to capture
• If you have multiple windows open, click the window you want to clip from before clicking Screen Clipping. When you click Screen Clipping, the program you are working in is minimized and only the window behind it is available for clipping
• After adding a screenshot, you can use the tools on the Picture Tools tab to edit and enhance the screenshot

You can use Screenshot in Word 2010, PowerPoint 2010 and Excel 2010.